episode_0098

Time passes, and the mild weather becomes hot. However, the north is still cold and blizzardy.

And a small town that exists somewhere in a remote part of the north. A one-sided massacre was taking place in the place occupied by the warlocks.

“Hee…Hee Iik-!”

Suddenly!

The warlock, who was sitting down and looking at something, loses his head. The cutting surface is precise and clean enough to be used as a table.

“You…what on earth are you…! What on earth is going on?-!”

Coulson, the warlock priest, could not come to his senses from the bizarre events unfolding before his eyes.

This is because if someone wearing a black robe and a crow mask made a single gesture, the person standing next to them would be cut to pieces.

That part was unpredictable. Some people have arms, some people have legs, and some people have their entire body divided into 36 pieces.

What on earth is going on? Apparently, the warlocks centered around him gathered together and completely took over this village.

Then, suddenly, that person appeared like the wind, no, lighter and faster than the wind, and ruined everything.

….no. Is it even possible to be human?

No matter how eccentric or strong a person is, they must show some emotion. However, that person does not show any emotions.

It’s like… a killing machine born to kill us. It is infinitely cruel, emotionless, precise and concise.

Suddenly!

Thud, thud.

“……..”

Dozens of warlocks were cut down like ants in front of a huge monster, not even able to move a finger or struggle.

When someone wearing a dark robe and mask makes a small gesture, dozens of heads disintegrate from the body.

Clearly, he is the chief priest of the warlocks. This means that even among warlocks with a clear hierarchy, they have a fairly high status.

That’s how confident he was in himself, and he harmed ordinary people ahead of others and robbed them of their vitality.

It was the same in this operation. No, it should have been.

“Save…Save-”

Tuk-

The head of another warlock who followed me disappears.

They won’t even know they’re dead. Because the cutting magic was faster than the time to recognize death.

…Could it be magic? Since ancient times, magic refers to generating magical power, then constructing and activating a magic circle through chanting.

This fact was known even to Coulson, who was ignorant of magic, so it would be no exaggeration to say that it was known to all citizens of the Empire.

“Hi…hii-”

Suddenly-

“I…I don’t want to die-”

Tuk.

It was just a small gesture. He didn’t build a magic circle, he didn’t gather magical power, and he hasn’t even opened his mouth once.

But… it’s so easy and simple to pierce the warlock’s regeneration and kill him.

Could that be… a dragon, not a human?

As Coulson looked at the strange sight, he suddenly remembered a children’s book he had read when he was very young, before he was corrupted into a warlock.

‘Sometimes, some of the highly intelligent dragons use magic to transform into humans and pretend to be humans.’

‘Dragons can truly be said to be the domain of those who rule the world. The construction of the magic circle is done so simply, and even the magic power follows them.’

It was a story about a dragon so beautiful and wonderful that it made my heart pound a little, even when I was a child who had no feelings about magic at all.

Jeopuk-jeopuk.

“…………”

“Ha…haha…”

Coulson collapsed in his seat, laughing at the approaching death.

….Dragon? That human… no. ‘That’ is something that cannot be compared to anything else.

Even dragons that appear in legends must use a magic circle to use magic.

Did I… encounter a fictional being called God? God is real…

Suddenly.

Before Coulson could finish his thoughts. His neck has already left his miserable body. He will be trapped in the bondage of eternal thoughts.

dump.

-I lived…I lived…I lived…!

-Thank you thank you…!

-Sigh…sigh…

As the last remaining warlock fell like a leaf blowing in the wind, the residents who watched with bated breath began to cry.

Feeling relieved that I survived, or feeling grateful for having survived.

For them, who almost lost their home and life itself to a black magician overnight, that unknown being was like a savior.

square-!

When an unknown being lifts a finger, the ropes that were binding the residents are cut in an instant.

Among the residents who were hugging each other in the happiness of surviving, a woman approaches a figure wearing a robe.

“Um… hey… thank you for saving me… hehe!”

The woman was saying thank you, but the moment she met the eyes behind the robe, she froze on the spot.

“……..”

The purple eyes shining through the frayed and broken mask showed only emptiness without a single light.

Suddenly, the claims of a madman who was exploring the world come to mind.

It was an absurd claim that beyond the endless sky that looks down on us, there exists a deep, endless dark space that we cannot understand.

There is no way there is a space of nothingness. The crazy man was only criticized for saying that such an empty space could not exist, and his argument was completely ignored.

“Pfft…kkk…”

“…….”

no. The space of nothingness existed. Those eyes… Those eyes that don’t contain anything, not even any emotions.

The swamp of that being’s mind is like a space of nothingness. The woman just sat down and looked up at him, unable to even breathe properly due to a far-off fear.

“What’s going on?”

“That…that person’s eyes…”

“….Oh. Where have you been?”

“….Huh?”

The woman who made eye contact with the young man who was running behind her for a moment showed a blank expression as the being disappeared without making any sound or sign.

As if it never existed from the beginning. There were no footprints or any remaining magical power on the pure white snow.

The small, nameless village was filled with people with puzzled expressions, corpses of warlocks who had lost certain parts of their bodies, and, in common, their heads.

***

“….Venice. I’m here.”

A small hill located right behind Frost Fortress.

Ariel sits down, placing white flowers on a small tombstone in a place where the beautiful moonlight always shines.

The cold snow seemed to spread the chill across my skin, but I didn’t care.

“…I caught a lot of bugs today too.”

Ariel sat down in front of the tombstone and began to talk to the person buried beneath it.

The day Ariel left Venice. I stayed in my room for almost two months and did nothing.

I blamed myself every moment, loathed myself and tried to kill myself. However, it has never been successful.

Every time that happened, my guilt about Venice and the pain that felt like a hole in my heart only increased.

Every day was hell. From the moment Venice left until now.

The crunchy snow she had walked on all her life felt like a thorny path to Ariel, and the now mild northern wind seemed to tear her heart apart.

Every day was the same thing: cursing myself, apologizing to Venice, and killing myself.

Then one day. I could hear the maids talking beyond the door.

“…They say a village disappeared today again because of the warlocks.”

“Huh… Really? It’s so polarizing these days…”

After the maids left in shame and tears, the conversation between the new maids who arrived.

The moment I heard that sound, I stopped killing myself, which had been going on for several months.

Warlock. The bugs we dealt with with Venice.

Self-reproach and apology to Venice. And the thoughts that I had put aside to remember all the moments I had with him begin to come to mind.

“Black….Wizard.”

Besides crying and swearing at himself, he spoke properly for the first time in months.

….Warlock. Although he was the one who caused Venice to die without even realizing his sacrifice.

It was the warlocks who created the direct cause. If it weren’t for those damn bugs, Venice wouldn’t have had to sacrifice and die.

If only those bastards hadn’t been born… If only those bastards hadn’t been born…!

The target of anger begins to change. In the empty purple eyes, only hatred, not life, begins to burn.

that day. Ariel put on her night raven costume again. Black robes and a raven mask that is now frayed and slightly broken.

….I remembered all the moments I had with Venice, and for a moment I struggled with pain.

“I… must eliminate all warlocks.”

Without Venice, he began hunting down and killing the warlocks alone. Perhaps it was beyond the wall, but it was much simpler and easier than before.

On the contrary, because it was so easy, the suffering increased. It was because of these insignificant, scum-like children that Venice died.

Because I realized that it was these bugs who made my one and only side, my butler, leave.

….If only I had realized a little sooner. Before he came forward, I wish I had tried to avoid having to do that.

I blamed myself every day, and in a fit of rage, I slaughtered the warlocks.

After Venice and I were inactive, the number of warlocks increased rather than decreased, and their number was enormous.

Therefore, I devoted all my time from morning to evening to finding and killing warlocks.

Although there was only one person, the warlocks began to shrink at a maddening rate never seen before.

“….don’t let your sacrifice be in vain. I’ll kill all those bastards. Every single one, everyone…”

I stroke the tombstone with trembling hands. When I touched the cold stone instead of his warmth, I felt very painful, sad, and painful.

….I have to do it. For Venice…

One or two drops of water began to fall on the cold stone, and then continued to fall.

“….I’ll come again. Take care, my love…”

The spot left behind after Ariel left. The white flowers left behind are blown away by the wind.

***

“Daughter. Are you really… going?”

“Yes.”

“….Take care of yourself.”

“….Yes.”

Ariel, who was facing her father, leaves a firm answer and leaves.

“….Phew.”

It felt like my heart was breaking at the empty look in my daughter’s broken eyes. Rather, because of that, I couldn’t stop her actions.

On the desk where Breed Frost sat, looking as if he was thinking a lot, there was a stylish piece of paper.

– Request letter directly from the imperial family.

Contents: A strong black magic signal was discovered in an abandoned castle in the northernmost part of the country. The danger level of the signal discovered as an artifact appears to exceed that of a 4-star monster and rival that of a 5-star monster.

A mercenary group that has subdued monsters of 4 stars or higher, or an individual, is requested to exterminate the warlock.